I saw a news report that said there were maintenance and spare parts issues so they could not be flown out. If true it’s pathetic.
If spare parts and maintenance are the case, thank Obama and his hatred of the military.
It is a way of life with the peacetime military attitude politicians have. They expect the military to do "More, Better with Less" until they reach a point where they have to do everything with nothing.
All branches need re-equipping and rejuvenation like the kind experienced under President Reagan.
I once flew a CH-53D to Pensacola for overhaul. Our squadron was so short on some spare parts that we had to remove 5 of the 6 main rotor blades from the helo we flew down and install them on the helo we were picking up from overhaul to fly it back to North Carolina.
We had several cannibalized hangar queens. 1977